The Power of the Daleks returns exactly 50 years after its original BBC broadcast
BBC AMERICA and BBC Worldwide commission special animated series featuring Patrick Troughton’s debut as the Doctor – based on the original audio recordings, photographs and film clips
New York, NY – September 6, 2016 – It’s one of the most celebrated Doctor Who adventures and yet no complete film recordings of The Power of the Daleks are known to have survived. The master negatives were destroyed in an archive purge in 1974.
Announced today, BBC AMERICA and BBC Worldwide have commissioned a brand new animation based on the program’s original audio recordings, surviving photographs and film clips that will be released 50 years after its only UK broadcast on BBC One. Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks premieres Saturday, November 12 on BBC AMERICA and will be available the following day to stream on the BBC AMERICA App and BBCAmerica.com.
The six-part adventure features the regeneration, or as it was then called ‘renewal’, of first Doctor, William Hartnell into second Doctor, Patrick Troughton, as the Time Lord and his companions Polly (Anneke Wills) and Ben (Michael Craze) do battle with the Daleks on the planet Vulcan.
Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks is produced and directed by Charles Norton, with character designs from acclaimed comic book artists Martin Geraghty and Adrian Salmon.
Sarah Barnett, President of BBC AMERICA, commented, “50 years after its inception, Doctor Who continues to be a global phenomenon that perpetually reanimates itself – literally, right now. “The Power of the Daleks” is the latest uniquely creative storytelling to spring from the extraordinary mythology of the Doctor Who world – there are only a handful of global franchises that have the depth to evolve in this kind of way. We are so proud to present this work to our BBCA Doctor Who fans, who we think will go crazy for this reverent yet shockingly reinvented “mash up”.”
Charles says, “The Power of the Daleks animation is the most ambitious Doctor Who archive restoration ever attempted and we’re all very honored to be a part of such an exciting project. Intelligent, suspenseful and magnificently staged, The Power of the Daleks is one of the great lost classics of 1960s television and a superb example of the black and white era at its finest.”
Paul Hembury, Executive Producer, BBC Worldwide says, “Charles and his team are remarkably talented and passionate about Doctor Who and we are thrilled that fans will soon be able to enjoy this rather sinister but wonderful, classic story.”
BBC AMERICA adds Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks to its Fall slate of original programming including David Beckham: For the Love of the Game on September 20, new season of The Graham Norton Show in October, world premiere of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency on October 22, The Living and the Dead on October 27, Undercover on November 17 and the Doctor Who Christmas Special in December.
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Created in 1998, BBC AMERICA is a hub of innovative, culturally contagious programming like the ground-breaking unscripted series Top Gear, the top-rated science-fiction phenomenon Doctor Who, and the fan-favorite Orphan Black. The influential network has been the launch pad for talent including Ricky Gervais, Gordon Ramsay, and Graham Norton — all adopted as American pop culture icons. A joint venture between BBC Worldwide (the commercial arm of the BBC) and AMC Networks, BBCA has attracted both critical acclaim and major awards including four Emmy® Awards, five Golden Globes® and 12 Peabody Awards. The irrepressible network has garnered one of cable’s most curious, educated and affluent audiences, with many properties boasting super-fan levels of engagement. Available on cable and satellite TV, BBC AMERICA broadcasts in both standard and high-definition, is available On Demand across all major digital platforms and offers full episodes online at bbcamerica.com. Find out more by visiting press.bbcamerica.com or follow us on twitter.com/bbcamerica.